Sunday, March 2
On this date in 1889, the Atlantic & Pacific train was held up in Canyon Diablo, 26 miles west of Winslow, and the express box was stolen. Sheriff Bucky O’Neill captured the bandits in Utah a few weeks later.
On this date in 1909, the Navajo National Monument, including Keet Seel and Betatakin, was established.
On this date in 1911, a Phoenix women’s club met to discuss a clean-up campaign in anticipation of a visit by Col. Theodore Roosevelt.
On this date in 1914, the first electric lights were turned on in Safford.
Monday, March 3
On this date in 1757, San Cosme de Tucson was established on the west bank of the Santa Cruz River by Father Bernard Middendorf. No trace of the large mission ruin remains today.
On this date in 1859, the first newspaper in the state, the Weekly Arizonian, was published in Tubac.
On this date in 1865, the Colorado River Indian Reservation was established for the Hualupais, Yavapais and other tribes along the Colorado River.
On this date in 1908, the town of Florence was incorporated.
On this date in 1911, Congress appropriated $90,000 for construction of a bridge across the Little Colorado River near Cameron.
On this date in 1913, troops from the 9th U.S. Cavalry fought a 30-minute battle with Mexican troops on the border near Agua Prieta. Four Mexican soldiers were killed and an estimated 4,000 shots were fired.
Tuesday, March 4
On this date in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln appointed John A. Gurley to be territorial governor.
On this date in 1867, Camp Crittenden, named after General Thomas L. Crittenden, was established in the Sonoita Valley.
On this date in 1872, the first public school in Tucson opened with John Spring employed as the first teacher.
On this date in 1911, The Arizona Republic announced a raid on the Chinatown district of Phoenix which uncovered four opium dens in full operation. Eleven opium pipes were confiscated, including one of cactus wood with inlaid mother-of-pearl.
On this date in 1930, Coolidge Dam was dedicated, although the lake had not filled up high enough to cover the grass. Humorist Will Rogers, guest speaker at the dedication, said that if it was his lake, he would have mowed it.
On this date in 1978, Gov. Wesley Bolin died just three months after succeeding Raul Castro in office. Bruce Babbitt was sworn in as the state’s third governor in three months.
Wednesday, March 5
On this date in 1918, the town of Miami was incorporated.
On this date in 1922, the Tucson Citizen reported that commercial organizations throughout northeastern Arizona were vigorously protesting the government order that Fort Apache be abandoned.
Thursday, March 6
On this date in 1923, the record of appeal in the case of the Iron Cap Copper Company against the Arizona Commercial Mining Company, both located in the Copper Hill District at Globe, was delivered to Superior Court. The record weighed more than 1,000 pounds and was delivered by an express company.
On this date in 1926, a violent hailstorm hit Tucson, dropping temperatures 16 degrees in 20 minutes.
Friday, March 7
On this date in 1874, the Pima County Board of Supervisors recommended that board floors be installed in the Pima County Court House which would allow rooms to be rented out for concerts and shows.
On this date in 1922, new uniforms were announced for Tucson firefighters. The olive-drab uniforms, with black ties and brass buttons were to be paid for by the firefighters.
On this date in 1922, the Tucson Citizen reported that the Tucson Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution had discovered a portion of the original Spanish wall around the Old Pueblo.
Saturday, March 8
On this date in 1882, The Phoenix Herald reported that saloons were soaking their spittoons in the same irrigation ditches where many residents got their drinking and cooking water.
On this date in 1899, the town of Jerome was incorporated.
On this date in 1913, the Calumet and Arizona Copper Company in Bisbee fumigated the money it paid to employees due to a strict quarantine because of an outbreak of spinal meningitis.
On this date in 1924, two crewmen were injured, one fatally, at Congress Junction when a Santa Fe passenger train was wrecked after vandals pulled up spikes, loosening the rails.
On this date in 1934, 85 mph winds took the roofs off of 25 buildings in Williams.
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